New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar met US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Wednesday (September 23) and reiterated India’s “interests and concerns” over Washington’s new law paving the way for tariffs of up to 100% against Russia’s biggest oil and gas customers – a list that includes India.Jaishankar, who met Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York, said he “reiterated India’s interests and concerns” with regard to the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in addition to discussing the “Gulf and Ukraine situations” with his counterpart.The secretary of state for his part simply stated that the two sides “are building on the US-India strategic partnership and coordinating on key regional priorities and upcoming multilateral efforts”.Earlier this month the US Congress passed the Act, which authorises tariffs of up to 100% on countries that were among the top five buyers of Russian oil or gas and that knowingly purchase such products after the enactment of the legislation. President Donald Trump signed the text into law last Friday.Reacting to the Act’s passage last week, the external affairs ministry said that New Delhi had “very clearly articulated” the potential ramifications of the legislation “for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market”.India, it said, will continue to meet its energy requirements by way of “diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics”. “Government will work closely with Indian trade and industry bodies to deal with the implications of these developments,” it added.Trump, who had previously levied a 50% tariff against India on the grounds of its steady purchases of Russian oil, said during his address at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that he is willing to use the Act’s “enormous” provisions to stop the Ukraine war.“We continue to seek to end the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine which is killing, as I said, thousands and thousands of people every month. Last week in honour of senator Lindsey Graham I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities. And if necessary, I will have to use them. It’s time to stop the killing,” he said.Though India began diversifying beyond Russian oil after Trump levied his 50% tariff last year, it has begun buying it in greater numbers now that supplies from West Asia stand choked by the Iran war. Russia’s share of India’s crude imports was at around 50% in July, and India is Russia’s second-largest customer for oil.But Indian refiners are already eyeing alternative oil sources in the event that Trump again imposes a steep tariff on India using the Lindsey Graham Act, media reports this week have said.